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Whether she departs the Australian Open with the trophy, Maria Sharapova is assured of ascending to the No. 1 ranking for the first time since October 2005.
Don't break out the champagne.
"It's not that big a deal," Sharapova says. "It's a good fact, but it's not something I go onto the court thinking about."
As usual, the reigning U.S. Open champ has her eye on the prize.
Sharapova, two points from defeat in her sole-melting opening match, punctuated her imminent return to the top by outslugging fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-4 Monday. The win pushed Sharapova's record to 23-1 since her second Grand Slam tournament title in New York in September, her only loss coming in November to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships.
She faces another teenager, No. 12 seed Anna Chakvetadze, in the quarterfinals. Chakvetadze, 19, defeated No. 8 seed Patty Schynder of Switzerland 6-4, 6-1 to set up the all-Russian affair.
More important for the Siberia-born, Florida-trained Sharapova, her game is starting to peak after shaky moments early in the tournament.
"I thought I definitely stepped it up," said the top seed, who will move up from No. 2 after Amelie Mauresmo's and Svetlana Kuznetsova's exit from the tournament and Henin-Hardenne's absence. "I was going for my shots a bit more. I felt like I was a little tentative in my previous matches just tying to find my rhythm."
Against No. 22 seed Zvonareva, a former top-10 player returning to form after injuries, Sharapova pulled out her best tennis on the crucial points in a battle featuring percussive baseline rallies.
Sharapova converted on her 10th break point to take a 6-5 lead in the first set, which she closed out with a shrieking inside-out forehand winner. She raced to a 5-2 lead in the second but had to come back from 0-40 on her second service game for the match to finally close it out.
"Obviously, it's disappointing in a situation where you don't take care of business after five or six (break points)," she said. "But the main thing is that I didn't really let that get in my head."
Sharapova's rise to the top is testament to the consolidation of her skills since winning Wimbledon in 2004 at 17 years old. Her serve is now a major weapon, her movement and defense have improved and her signature champion's hunger remains intact. The 19-year-old has reached the quarterfinals or better in 10 of her last 12 majors and never exited before the third round in any Slam.
"She definitely improved her serve and her movement," Zvonareva says. "She became a really patient player, no matter even though she's really aggressive. It's not just about the crucial points in the match."
"I just trust her mental strength better than anybody else," ESPN analyst Pam Shriver says.
Sharapova, too, believes she wasn't ready to seize the tour when she won Wimbledon more than two years ago.
"Technically I've always said I never really expected to win my first major at 17 years old," she says.
But she says having bagged her second major at the U.S. Open — what she calls "that feeling inside of you where you know you're able to win another Grand Slam" — has positioned her for more success.
"I think that I have many more Grand Slams in me," she says.
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